Up Where They Walk
by Traditionally Animated
Summary: Tiana can't see why Ariel wants to be part of New Orleans.  She just doesn't see why a mermaid princess want to interact with humans living in a nation with unfairness in almost everything. But Ariel knows there's has to be some good in everyone.
1. A Step Back

Author's Note: Although we think of putting our favorite and similar princesses together, I decided to put two very _different_ ones together: Ariel and Tiana. Ariel, the dreamy and fun one, and Tiana, hard-working, realistic dreamer (I say her restaurant is more of a goal). Hope you enjoy yourselves. _The Little Mermaid_ and _The Princess and The Frog_ don't belong to me, but to Disney. A thing they both have in common is that their movies are directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. If the Disney Princess franchise belonged to me, I'd make the princesses actually look at each other 'cause they don't. This story is not made for a profit. In order to prevent confusion, I made up some other diners other than Cal's and Duke's as mentioned in the movie.

_Up Where They Walk_

A Step Back

Tiana was working again for another diner, another shift, another day in October of 1925.

_Off to Jerry's, _she thought, as she dressed up for her next job. Before leaving, she looked at her father's photo and the poster he gave to her as a little girl. _Tiana's Place._ _See ya later, daddy._ She kissed her two fingers that she pressed onto his portrait of him in uniform. She gave a sigh, and then headed out the door.

As she hastily walked down the street to Jerry's, she overheard a little girl talking to her mother.

"Mommy, I wanna be a mermaid!" said the daughter.

Tiana remembered those times when Charlotte said things like that when they were kids. Charlotte still wants to be a princess at nineteen years old.

"That's nice, honey," commented the mother.

"Can you make me into one?" pleaded the daughter. Tiana always thought parents had the hardest job of trying to tell the children the truth about things that they are amazed with.

"I'm sorry, but I really can't, sweetie," let down the mother.

"Aww..." moaned the blond headed girl. Tiana felt sad for the child, but everyone has to face with that disappointment. More so with colored people than whites in America.

"Do you want me to read a story about a mermaid?" asked the mother. Her daughter's face lit up as she joyfully answered yes. Tiana smiled at the child as she walked passed the two, the little girl smiling back as the mother returned a nasty look at Tiana, who shrugged to herself, getting to Jerry's door.

"Mommy, why did you look at her that way?" asked the child, who caught the mother off guard.

"It's nothing, darling, now, let's get home." It's a good thing that some children don't see color.

Tiana opened the door to the hustle and bustle of Jerry's. People came in and ate as usual, and Randy was just finishing preparing another meal.

"Hey, Tiana!" greeted Randy.

"Hey, Randy. So where do these meals go to?"

"Tables 4, 7, and 10," he answered.

"Thanks." As usual, Tiana grabbed the plates and served to their proper tables. Tiana liked giving her best for herself and to others, through being a waitress (for the time being), and eventually as a cook. She hospitably served each table every night, although she always got small tips, she appreciated every cent she earned.

"Evening, Tiana," greeted Wanda. Wanda was a fellow co-worker and neighbor of hers. She was overall nice, but she always had something smart to say and suggested things that weren't definite.

"Evening, Wanda," greeted Tiana.

"You sound tired," Wanda commented. "You should really give up one of your jobs, but knowing you, your stubborn tail wouldn't want to stop and smell the roses, huh?"

"_Thanks for the complement_," said a sarcastic Tiana.

"Wanda, you should watch what you say sometimes!" reprimanded Nathan, Wanda's next door neighbor and childhood friend. He was known to have ears like an owl's. People around the neighborhood always said, "Nathan's got the ears to take in everything, and Wanda's got the mouth to spout it out." Dealing with Wanda can be a pain sometimes when you have to be nice around customers, or just being nice at all. Tiana went on with her job, as usual, without any more worries in the evening.

Hours passed into the morning. The last customer left their tip to Tiana, a quarter and a dime. Tiana made a half-smile for each cent was closer to her and her father's dream.

Ricky, who was Randy's younger twin brother washed dishes, called Tiana. "Tiana! The boss has an announcement to make!" Tiana, Ricky, Randy, Wanda, and Nathan assembled together as Jerry himself came out to speak.

"I appreciate all of you and all of my employees for quite a while now," he began, "but I'm afraid that I'm going to have to let you all go."

Tiana's eyes widened.

"What? That's impossible! Why?" they exclaimed.

"I'm not earning enough for the diner against the others around here. And I'm earning less and less each week. I've got no choice but to sell it, since my debt is rising. I've got no chance with the competition goin' on in the Crescent City."

"We can try harder! We'll tell people about it! There must be something we could do," begged the others.

"I'm sorry, but there's no escaping this hole we're in. Or more so myself, I should say. You kids go on and find something else to do or find another place to work. Or maybe you should get some sleep, since you all work so hard for the past couple of years...I'm done here. It was nice workin' with you young people. Wait just a minute for your pay."

Jerry went back and closed the door to the kitchen. He came back with all the money he could pay them, which wasn't much.

"Thank you very much for your patience and hard work all this time."

"You're welcome, Jerry," said the five. The five walked out the door of the diner. It was the end of Jerry's as they knew it.

"That's great," said Tiana. "What are we gonna do now?"

"I'm gonna rest for a while," remarked Wanda, as she stretched her arms up and yawned. "It gets too tiresome for some people working all night all the time."

"I agree with you," said Randy. Wanda smiled proudly. "For once." That smile turned into a frown as she crossed her arms and furrowed her brows.

"Well, it doesn't mean that we don't get to see each other again!" Ricky suggested. At least someone in the group could make all of them smile, even Wanda.

"You mean well, Ricky, you do," said, Nathan, "but eventually we all will have to go on our own paths. We won't see each other always, even if we grew up together."

"Well, thanks for ruining the mood, Nathan," muttered Wanda. She got a nudge from him, and returned him one as well. Their rivalry always made Ricky, Randy, and Tiana laugh.

"So, how about we all go dancin' tonight?" suggested Randy.

"That sounds like the bee's knees!" complemented Nathan.

"Y'all enjoy yourselves," said Tiana, "I'm planning to find another job this evening."

"Another job?" Ricky asked.

"Ricky, it's Tiana we're talking about," pointed out Wanda, "Of course she's going to get another job after she just lost another one!"

"Are you sure, Tiana?" asked Randy. "You should really give yourself a rest and have some fun sometimes."

"See?" said Wanda. Nathan gave a strict look at her that made Wanda unwillingly quiet.

"Tiana's got the freedom to do what she wants to," Nathan told her, "If she's determined enough to work hard for what she wants and not play around like _some people_, then let her." He turned to Tiana. "You go on ahead, Tiana, you know we'll see ya later."

"Thanks, Nathan." Tiana glanced at the clock. Time for first shift again, with no time to get back home and change, either. "Y'all, I've got to go," said Tiana, "I've got to go now or else I'll get to work late. See ya!"

"Bye, Tiana!" The other four waved goodbye as Tiana headed to Duke's.

_Don't worry, Daddy, I might have been pushed one step back, but I'll do my best to get right on track again for our dream._

A/N: Well, that's the first chapter. I hope you've enjoyed it so far. There will be a special character in next chapter...


	2. A New Discovery

A/N: Helloes! There is a special character from the original story that Disney was trying to do for The Little Mermaid for the 1989 movie who was cut from developing the story of the film. His name was Vysonto. He was a mutant merman who was very loyal to Ariel, who eventually dies sacrificing his life during the battle against Ursula. But, he was replaced by Flounder, who they thought kids would like more (_Disney...*slaps face*_). I think he would've been a very dynamic character if he'd stayed in the story, even with Flounder in it. I'll include him in the story, and even give him a little bit more to him.

For the ordering of the sisters...I decided to mix the original version with the prequel's order (that didn't make sense to me) of Ariel's sisters, since I think the prequel did a great job of making Attina convincing enough to be the eldest, although the original had Aquata being the eldest. Anyway...from oldest to youngest. (According to this story.)

Attina

Andrina

Arista

Aquata

Adella

Alana

Ariel

Now, drumroll please...

_Up Where They Walk_

A New Discovery

Fifteen year old Ariel yawned after seeing that she was the first to open her eyes to see the new day. Her sisters were still sound asleep inside their clam beds. Time for early exploration. She took her orange bag and swam out the hole in their room quietly. When it seemed that she was out of ear distance, she sped up.

And met Vysonto, her seventeen year old mutant merfriend. Or more so, bumped into him. Her heart sank. _Oh, boy... _He was sometimes carefree as she was, but he was always cautious to the point of being serious like Sebastian or even her own father. Like this moment.

"Uh...Good morning, Vysonto!" greeted a nervous Ariel, which was an uncommon trait of hers. A sure sign that she was up to something.

"Good morning, _Princess Ariel_," returned Vysonto. When Vysonto called her "Princess Ariel," he meant business.

"So...how are you?" Ariel asked, still having the same nervous smile.

"Fine," he firmly answered, "May I ask what are _you_ doing so early in the morning?"

"Um..." It'd be really hard to lie to one of her closest friends like that. But an idea came to her.

"Well, what are _you_ doing this morning?" she questioned mischievously.

"Exploring, huh?" He knew her all too well sometimes.

"Yeah..." she uneasily said, shrugging. _ I hope he's not going to tell..._

Vysonto sighed. "Princess Ariel, how many times have I reminded you not to go exploring..."

Here it comes...

"Without _me_?" Vysonto's serious exterior turned into a heartwarming smile. Ariel's gradual frown immediately became a genuine smile again.

She hugged him. "Thanks, Vysonto. I knew I could trust you." Vysonto blushed as he couldn't get a breath in. No, it wasn't because she squeezed him so hard...

"Now," Vysonto began, "where are we going?"

"Follow me." Ariel and Vysonto swam not too far from the city, for the sake of her family waking up finding a empty clam shell in their room besides their own. On the way both persons found little things here and there familiar to the human world for Ariel's collection. Finally, they came towards her cave, and Vysonto gladly moved the stone for Ariel to enter first.

Although Vysonto had entered Ariel's trove before, he's always been amazed at how Ariel retrieved so many human items since she was fourteen. Her birthday was approaching in a few months, and he could tell that she was growing into a young merwoman. But he knew very well that whether Ariel turned sixteen or three hundred years old, she'd still be joyful Ariel all the same. That's what he'd always liked about her. Almost nothing stopped her joy.

She swam towards a shelf to put her all new treasures, save one, from yesterday there.

"Vysonto, do you have any idea what this is?" Ariel held an unusual shaped item: it was golden, smooth with rings around the ends of it that had deep holes for something to hold in there, and could stand on its own if she set it down.

He swam closer to her to get a real good look at the object. Vysonto raised a thick eyebrow at one side, and then at another.

"I have no idea what this thing is," Vysonto replied, "but it looks nice."

"Maybe we should ask Scuttle after we meet up with Flounder this morning," Ariel suggested. Vysonto agreed.

"Speaking of this morning, you should get back home," Vysonto recommended. "Your sisters might get suspicious."

"Knowing them, they would," laughed Ariel, as Vysonto rolled open the trove.

"Hey, Ariel..."

Her hair swooped around as she turned. "Yes?"

Just her attention made him speechless.

"Yes?" she repeated.

"Um...I'll meet you later here when you return with Flounder. Is that alright?"

"Of course that's alright!"

"See ya later!" said Ariel. Vysonto waved back.

As she looked through the hole, it seemed that her sisters weren't present.

_Safe, so far,_ she thought as she silently swam into the room.

Without warning, a large mass of mermaids pounced on her back, making Ariel unable to move.

"Ariel!" shouted Arista.

"Good...morning, Arista, how...are you?" grunted Ariel, with the breath that she had.

"Great, actually! But we were worried about you. Especially Attina."

"Get ready for a lecture, sis," commented Andrina.

"Where have you been?" interrogated Attina, the only one who wasn't in the pile with the other sisters. "We wondered where you were this morning! And so was Father!"

Ariel's mouth dropped. "He was?" Ariel got up from underneath the pile of her sisters.

"Yes, " said Attina, "but I covered for you all the same."

That was a relief. "Thanks."

"So..." said Aquata, "what were you doing exactly, hmm?" Her sisters circled around Ariel to capture all the details.

"Nothing much," answered Ariel, "I was just exploring." Her sisters knew that Ariel was always on an adventure when not at home.

"Exploring? Alone?" asked a concerned Alana.

"No, I was with someone," answered Ariel. The other sisters gathered around Ariel, curious to know if it was any guy involved in her endeavor.

"With Vysonto." Her sisters fell out of interest.

Attina sighed. "At least you were with a friend of the family. Not to mention a very responsible one."

"Find anything special?" asked Arista.

"Yeah!" Ariel answered enuthusiastically, "I found this thing, and it was golden...and it could stand by itself. It has lots of rings, and it seems to have some holes in it to hold in something very narrow in."

"Like Father's patience sometimes," sternly said Attina.

"More like your own sometimes," murmured Andrina. Some of the sisters chuckled. Attina gave her a serious look, while Andrina returned her usual sarcastic face.

"Oh, come on, Attina," said Aquata, "at least she's back in one piece." Adella nodded in agreement. Attina sighed, knowing at least Ariel was okay and safe back with the family again from wherever she's been.

"Okay," said Attina, crossing her arms,"but you can maybe give us a heads up before you go exploring each morning?"

"Hmm..." Ariel thought out loud. Attina raised an eyebrow. "...Maybe."

"Maybe?" cautioned Attina, putting her hands on her hips. "Ariel!"

"Yeah, I will," said Ariel. "Thanks again, Attina."

"You're all _too_ welcome, sometimes, Ariel."

The sisters swam in and waved to their father. Sebastian quickly approached Ariel.

"Ariel!" he called. "How come you were oversleeping dis morning?"

Ariel shugged playfully. "I guess I needed some more sleep?" Sebastian raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

"Well, what matters is that I'm up, isn't it?"

"Eh, teenagers. Dat's what dey all say. If you just need some more sleep, den just go to bed earlier, child!"

"Thanks for the advice, Sebastian," Ariel said with a mocking smile. As Sebastian swam away for his morning duties as assigned, Ariel felt some figure gaining behind her...called her father, the king.

She froze as he was a few inches before her. Sure, Attina may have covered for her, but sometimes her father may want to get down to the nitty gritty on Ariel's activities. And that's not what she feared the most. No, no, it was his rejection on her human-related activities that she did behind his back that she truly feared.

"Ariel! Good morning!" greeted King Triton. He hugged his daughter.

"Good morning, Daddy," Ariel was slightly uneased, but hugged her father anyway.

"Did you have a good sleep?"

"Well...yeah," Ariel said, shrugging.

"Good enough to oversleep this morning?"

Ariel hid her nervousness by rolling her eyes. "I get it, Daddy. Wake up eariler." Triton smiled.

"Now, that's my little girl," said King Triton, "You can go on. Have a good day."

"Thanks, Daddy." Ariel kissed his cheek and swam out the palace.

"Now be careful, Ariel!" Triton waved at her, and she returned the wave.

Ariel sighed. It felt so wrong not telling her father about her adventure this morning. She could only hide the fact from her father for so long about her passion for land. She told her sisters about her interest, and they were okay with it. Attina was a bit wishy washy about Ariel's interest, though she never condemned her for liking the human world. She was happy for her sister, whose face lit up every time she talks about hoping to live on land one day. But she warned Ariel: for their father always told them about humans. They were barbarians, never caring about who they catch or hit, but they just go for their way and for their own glory. Their mother was a victim of their selfish and careless act, but...

_All of them couldn't be like that..._she thought.

That's the reason why she began her research and exploration.

It all began on a day that she found a strange item in a piece of coral. She pulled it out. It was circular, with a chain connecting at the very top where a button was placed. She flipped it over and saw numbers surrounding every part of the circle with two arrows. The longer one was pointing between the five and the six, and the shorter arrow pointed at the one. It ticked.

"_Amazing_," she said in awe. This piece of the human world enchanted her, wanting to know more about this thing. What did it do, and how did it work? What was its purpose?

She clenched this item in her hand while she swam back to the palace and then her room. She hid it under her pillow, lest any one of her sisters be suspicious of the thing. Unless she showed it to them. Maybe they know what it is...

That night she showed it to them.

"_You guys_," Ariel began, "_I have something to show you! It's fantastic! I found this thing today in some coral!_"

Her sisters came closer to her. Ariel digged under her pillow and showed them the treasure she found. All her sisters except Attina stared in admiration.

"_Ariel!_" The other six faced Attina. "_Do you have any idea where this comes from?_"

"_Um...Attina, I found it in some coral I found today-_"

"_It's not from coral! It's not even from the sea!_"

"_Then...where is it from?_" The room was silent for a moment.

"_It's from...**up there**_." She pointed up. Ariel's eyes widened in astonishment that made her smile across her whole face.

"_No way!_" quietly cried Arista. The sisters, save Ariel and Attina, looked at each other worriedly. Ariel was happily staring at her otherworldly possession. Attina was drowing in her own worries about Ariel. How would their father react to this? He despises humans.

"_Enough!_" announced Attina. The room became quiet again as Attina received her sisters' undivided attention. She came closer to Ariel, putting Ariel's hands in hers.

"_Ariel, if you know what's good for you, you musn't tell Father about this. Or better yet, don't search for things like this. It's only going to get you in trouble with him and...who knows? You might even get in danger by those humans!_"

"_But..._" Ariel said, "_What if they're not so mean like Dad says? It seems that they were nice enough to leave this gadget for us!_"

"_But you don't know if it's for your good or not,_" retorted Attina.

"_It hasn't caused me harm ever since I found it._"

Attina sighed. She had to admit, she was in one piece, and she was still the Ariel that they know and love.

"_Alright, Ariel,_" said Attina, "_But you can't leave your stuff here._"

"_Or anywhere around home for that matter_," sarcastically commented Andrina.

"_Sad, but true_," said Aquata as she shrugged.

"_But where could I put this at?_" asked Ariel.

"_You've got lots of places to put it around Atlantica_!" joyfully reminded Arista.

"_I'm sure there can be somewhere you can keep it without anyone knowing,_" said Alana.

"_Or Dad, for that matter,_" remarked Adella.

"_Thanks, you guys,_" said Ariel. "_Can you keep this a secret from Dad?_"

"_Definitely!_" They enthusiastically agreed.

Attina heavily sighed. "_This is going to be the biggest guilt trip of my life._"

"_Not unless you don't act guilty around Dad!_" suggested Aquata.

Attina rolled her eyes. "_Whatever, Aquata._"

Ariel spotted Flounder with his siblings.

"Cecilia, let Mack hold the coral disc!" Flounder said.

"But...but..." Cecilia just couldn't let go.

"It's his turn! Just let him have it!" Flounder commanded.

Cecilia looked at her younger brother, then at Flounder, then the coral disc. Her face tensed, and then gave Mack a dirty look that resulted to her throwing the disc at him. Poor little Mack bawled his heart out.

"Cecilia!" scolded Flounder. "You didn't have to do that!" His sister went inside their home, pouting. Flounder comforted his sobbing brother, while their mother came outside.

"Now, what's the matter?" asked Flounder's mother.

"Mom, Cecilia just threw the coral disc at Mack!" notified Flounder.

"Oh, honey," said Flounder's mother, consoling Mack, "it's alright, come with Mommy." She escorted him inside. "Thanks for helping your brother, Flounder."

"You're welcome, Mom!" There was another job well done for today, for Flounder, Super Brother. He'd like to think that way about himself occaisionally when helping the family out like this.

"Hey, Flounder!" Flounder turned around and noticed Ariel. He swam to her.

"Morning, Ariel!"

"Flounder, I found something new today! It looks so interesting! It's nothing you've ever seen!"

"Most of the human stuff you find are things we've never seen."

"I know, but it's so wonderful! C'mon, let's go meet Vysonto and go to the trove. Afterwards, we'll go see Scuttle."

"Scuttle _again_, Ariel?" It was a few weeks ago that Flounder finally met Scuttle. His reaction to the bird was that he was a bit unusual, but he was knowledgable about human things, though.

"But he knows a lot about humans and what they do! Aw, c'mon, Flounder!" Flounder knows he can't deny a request from Ariel. That's his best friend.

"Alright, Ariel," said Flounder, "but I still think he's still weird."

"Oh, he'll grow on you, Flounder," assured Ariel.

"Mom! I'll be back in a little while! I'm leaving with Ariel!" shouted Flounder.

Flounder's mother poped her head through their entrance of their home. "Okay, honey, see ya later!" said Flounder's mother, waving goodbye.

"That's a relief," said Flounder.

"What's a relief?" asked Ariel.

"You coming here," answered Flounder, "It's a relief from dealing with my brother and my sister. Phew!" He wiped his forehead. "Siblings sometimes."

"I can agree," laughed Ariel.

Sitting upon the cold stone of the entrance of the trove, Vysonto was meddling with a few barnacles here and there with a rock, breaking them off.

_I think I'd be doing her a favor for this_, he thought. _To make her trove beautiful on the outside as it was on the inside. _ _Just like-_

"Vysonto, we're here!" That female's voice made him jump out of his scales so bad he cut himself on the outside of his left hand. _Oh, barnacles..._

"Morning, Vysonto!" greeted Flounder.

"Ah! Good morning, Flounder!" returned Vysonto. "And to you again, Ariel." He smiled sheepishly.

Vysonto rolled away the stone for them to enter. After they went inside, Vysonto followed them, closing the trove again.

"See, Flounder! Look!" said Ariel, holding the odd catch of the day.

"Wow..." admired Flounder.

Vysonto swam up to them. "It's something, isn't it?"

"Yeah..." agreed Ariel. "C'mon, let's go see Scuttle!" The trio followed their usual procedure of leaving the trove, and swam up to the warm surface.

While Ariel and Flounder were skimming the skies for Scuttle, Vysonto was taking some caution to their surroundings, to see if there could be humans around watching them.

"There he is!" alarmed Ariel, as she dashed off.

Flounder sighed. _Why is it sometimes the most craziest animals we know know about stuff that we don't know?_

Vysonto waded over to Flounder. "What's the matter, Flounder?"

"Eh, it's just that Scuttle's just kinda weird," he answered.

"Ah, don't worry. If Ariel can be friendly with him and he returns that same friendly nature, you don't have anything to worry about."

Flounder smiled. Vysonto always was like a big brother he never had, especially at times like this. "Thanks, Vysonto." The two followed Ariel to where Scuttle was standing on a rock.

"So what've you got for me today, Ariel?" asked Scuttle.

"I found this!" She held up her unknown object to him to observe.

"Hmm..." he analyzed. He slapped his knee with his wing. "It looks like a windgelberp!"

"A windgelberp, huh?" asked Vysonto.

"What does it do?" requested Flounder.

"Humans use it to put their personal belongings in there when they're going somewhere else. And when they go, they take what's important to 'em in the windgelberp to leave it there for the day," he explained.

"Wow," the three said.

"And then, when they come back, they put their belongings back in the windgelberp, so they won't forget those belongings, right?" supposed Ariel excitingly.

"You got it, kid!" assured Scuttle.

Oh, that's so amazing!" exclaimed Ariel. "Thanks, Scuttle!"

"No problem, kid," Scuttle said. "Always here to help."

"See ya later!" Ariel said, waving. They swam down deeper into the water, becoming cooler by the minute, seeing more their beloved city.

"Isn't this wonderful! A windgelberp!" Ariel proclaimed. "Just imagine if we had more of these things! I'd have one, you'd have one, and you'd have one..." But not everyone else. And definitely not her father.

Vysonto caught her in her sadness. "Is there something wrong, Ariel?"

"Ariel?" Flounder asked in concern.

"Yes," she finally said. "But we can at least share this one."

"And I'm happy that we're sharing it," said Vysonto, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah!" said Flounder.

Ariel finally smiled again. "Thanks, you guys. You know what would be another nice thing we can share together, if we ever find one?"

"What's that?" asked Flounder.

"A human friend," answered Ariel. "Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"Yeah!" Flounder cheerfully answered again.

"I would say so as well," replied Vysonto, who was unsure at the last second, "but, Ariel, I'd be careful. Some of those humans could be nice and others...well...they could be like your father says."

"But like you said, Vysonto." Ariel inched a little closer to him. "They could be nice, too."

Vysonto's words came back and bit him on the fin, making him blush. _Ariel, your charisma always gets to me..._

"I know they can't all be barbarians like Daddy says," said Ariel, "but if they make things like this to make life easier, then they must be good!"

"Alright," Vysonto said, "you've got me. They probably aren't so bad if they do such things." Ariel's smile grew even more at her friend's acceptance.

"Even if they do eat us?" asked Flounder.

"Well," said Ariel, "I didn't say all of them were good because they didn't eat fish!" Ariel's eyes wondered to the side as she shrugged. "But, I guess if we meet a human friend, we'll tell them not to eat you."

"Eat _ME_?" Flounder's teeth chattered at the thought of this as hid behind Ariel's massive, flowing hair.

"She said that we'll tell them not to eat you, Flounder, not the other way around," corrected Vysonto.

He peeked out of Ariel's hair. "Oh."

Ariel and Vysonto chuckled from their young friend's misunderstanding.

"Oh, Flounder," Ariel said, "if we do meet a human friend, I don't think you'd have a problem of them trying to eat you."

"You think so?" asked Flounder.

"We know so," replied Vysonto, "because they'd be laughing with us."

"And loving you to pieces just like us," added Ariel, who hugged him.

"I guess I'll have to see myself one of these days," commented Flounder.

"Yeah, you'll see," Ariel said. "How about we come up to the surface to see the sunset this evening?"

"That would be nice," said Flounder.

"Very much so," agreed Vysonto, looking at Ariel, who, to him, was an embodiment of hope, even at the most hopeless of times.

A/N: That was...too long...I hope the next one to be shorter...I have a feeling that it won't. Maybe. Writing about New Orleans is easier than writing about Atlantica. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Any tips/critiques are welcome. Vysonto's last line was a rehash of what Nick thought of Gatsby in F. Scott Fitzgerald's _The Great Gatsby. _I have no idea why I now think about a book that I read in school for tenth grade. I didn't like the book that much, although I agreed with the message about how certain people can be very careless and run away to their comforts when trouble comes. Sounds a _little _like...*coughArielcough*


	3. The Little Mermaid, Part I

_Up Where They Walk_

The Little Mermaid, Part I

Tiana hurried towards Duke's past all the hustle and bustle of New Orleans. As usual, the bands were playing their songs, men and women of different colors walked the street to the buildings of where they worked at. Some people were just walking to their favorite places to enjoy themselves and eat, since it was time for the most important meal of the day. She entered Duke's, where people filled the tables eating and talking with their friends. Tiana prepared herself again for her work day.

"You're late," said Buford. He tossed some dishes for her to serve the customers.

"Sorry," Tiana quickly apologized, as she caught the meals. _No time for explaining now._ She began her typical routine of serving, which always put a smile on people's faces when their food was given to them. A small boy lit up when he was given a few beignets, drizzled with honey and powdered with sugar.

"Thank you, ma'am," he politely said.

"You're welcome," Tiana said, smiling. She walked on to the next table.

_Ding-dong._ The bell rung again as Mr. La Bouff entered the diner.

"Morning, Tiana!"

"Mornin', Mr. La Bouff. How are you doin' today?"

"Great. And you?"

"Alright. Some days have been better than others, but today's been alright so far."

Charlotte's father raised an eyebrow. "Just alright? Is there anything wrong?"

"It's fine." Tiana placed his prepared beignets on the table.

"Are you sure? I can always help, if you need any."

"No, but thank you, Mr. La Bouff. I do appreciate that."

"Okay, then, Tiana." He sometimes worried about Tiana ever since her father died fighting the Great War and afterwards began working. Mr. La Bouff sighed, knowing that she was as stubborn as her father was, not accepting any charity like that. He then rubbed his hands together to feast on his breakfast.

_Ding-a-ling-a-ling!_ The wooden door swung open, clanging the bell. That was the undeniable sign of one person and one person only.

"Tia! Tia! Tiaaa!" Charlotte's bubbly self always manages to turn heads, but never minded them. She only wanted the have the attention of her closest and best friend.

"Mornin', Lottie," greeted Tiana. She couldn't help but to smile when Charlotte's around. Then, too, you can't really frown around her, either. "How's everything going?"

"Great! Even if Travis is botherin' me again! And in the morning, too! Ugh! Can't he just stalk someone else? He was just around the corner when I was still in the car." Charlotte pouted.

""I wouldn't say he's stalkin' you, Lottie. Did he say anything?"

"He asked me to go dancin' with him..._again_."

"How many times has he asked you?"

"Two hundred and ninety-eight times. Countin' this mornin'."

"Wow, Lottie. You've got to admit, he's persistent for ya."

"Then why does he ask someone like me who always says no?"

"Maybe he's just waiting for you to say yes after all this time."

"Well, that's not going to happen anytime soon. You know I'm still lookin' for my prince to come."

Tiana rolled her eyes playfully. "Haha, of course, Lottie."

"So, anything new goin' on with you, Tia?"

Tiana took a breath. "Well, I can't say it's for the better."

"What happened?"

"Jerry's closed down this morning right after we had the most busiest night."

Charlotte gasped. "Just after that? Tia, I'm sorry."

"Now, Lottie, it's fine. I'll find myself another job for my restaurant, don't worry."

"Okay, then. If you need any help-"

Tiana nodded at her offer. "I know, Lottie."

Charlotte wore a worried smile. _She's gonna work herself to death like this._ She sighed and for Tiana's good, she herself ordered some hotcakes. After the La Bouffs finished their meals, Charlotte just asked for one request from her father.

"Big Daddy, leave a big tip for Tia," she whispered.

"Charlotte-" Lottie covered her father's mouth so Tiana couldn't hear.

"She lost her job this mornin'. We've got to do something for her. And you know how she's so stubborn as an ox sometimes."

Eli smiled. He wasn't the only one that looked after Tiana. Actually, Charlotte watched over Tiana longer than he has, even as little girls listening to fairy tales every night.

"Alright." Eli hid twenty dollars under his empty dish.

Tiana walked over to their table. "Is there anything else y'all want?"

"Oh, no," Charlotte said, pretending to be anxious, "I think I've had even a little bit too much for my figure."

Tiana raised an eyebrow, but laughed. "Lottie, you figure's not in danger. And it wouldn't be anytime soon, since we do wear the same size for dresses and every thing."

"That's what they make you think, Tia," said Charlotte, grabbing her father by surprise. "Now, I'll catch ya later!" They speedily charged out of the diner.

_That was strange,_ Tiana thought. She cleaned up after the La Bouff's table and found the tip. _Twenty dollars? Lottie...you and your dad didn't have to do that..._

Tiana carried the plates to the kitchen, and set them down on the counter beside the sink. Buford turned towards Tiana while cooking some eggs, seeing that she was a bit more gloomy than usual. Sometimes she'd seem a bit gloomy from when her friends went to go do something fun. Yet, she always has the same excuse: to work for her restaurant. He hardly ever saw her frown around when the La Bouffs were in the diner.

"Hey, Tiana," he said, "Anything goin' wrong? Ya seem a little sad there."

_Well, that's strange,_ Tiana thought, _he's never asked how I was doin'. Ever._ "I just lost my other job this morning, that's all."

"Oh." _Hadn't had that feeling in a long time._

"Buford."

"Hm?"

"Your eggs are burnin'." That simple reponse rapidly made his head spin so fast, he'd almost caught whiplash.

The smoke from the stove rose up to the ceiling, almost clouding up the whole kitchen. Buford turned off the stove, and flapped his hat around to out of the window into the backyard of the diner.

That was the beginning of a long day.

For once, Tiana came home in the early afternoon after visiting countless restaurants and stores for work. Hardly any had openings for her to work. Her mother was home as well, and was sewing a new dress for Charlotte. Tiana slouched and walked drosily coming home from her job and running around for other jobs.

"Hey, Tiana," greeted Eudora. "Nice to see you this time of day."

Tiana gave a faint smile. "You too, mama."

"Did anything happen, babycakes?"

"Jerry's closed down, mama."

Eudora sprang from her chair. "When?"

"Just this mornin' after my shift was over. After that, I went to work at Duke's as usual, and then I tried to look for a job at some other places, but they weren't able to hire anyone now."

Eudora walked over and gave her a consoling hug. "Oh, I'm sorry, babycakes. But look on the bright side-at least you have some free time to do anything you want for the time being."

"I guess I can. Other than looking for jobs, I've got nothin' else to do." Tiana stretched her arms as she yawned. "I might as well go to sleep."

Tiana entered her room, and for the first time in a while on a weekday, stayed in bed longer than three seconds. She turned over, looking at her father's photo and her poster of her dream restaurant from bed. She cracked a smile as her vision blurred to darkness.

Something hit her head. Something soft...and pink. Tiana took the stuffed animal off her head and studied it carefully.

"Winifred?" That was the name of Charlotte's teddy bear, who Charlotte sometimes called Winnie. She tilted her head up to look around a familiar room. More so familiar to her childhood days.

_Why am I in Charlotte's room? _She got out of Charlotte's bed, and carefully stepped around the mass of toys that cluttered around.

"Oh, Tia! Let your mama read us _The Frog Prince_ again!" said four year old Charlotte, dressed in one of her many princess gowns that Eudora was about to finish.

"No, not that story again! Can we read something else?" said four year old Tiana, who spotted an interesting book from the shelf. "Mama, can you read this story to us?" She pointed it out.

Eudora pulled the book out and read its cover. "_The Little Mermaid_...sounds interestin'."

"Ooh!" said Charlotte, "That does sound interestin'! Read it to us, please!" Tiana nodded her head as well.

"Okay, now." Eudora said, opening the book. She set it upon of one of Charlotte's dressers, where a small manikin of the last part of her dress was standing.

Tiana tiptoed near the three of them. It'd been a long time since she heard that story. It was one of the few nights that they didn't read about _The Frog Prince_. But it's was one of the stories that they didn't read again and wondered why. Though it felt slightly unusual, she sat down with her and Charlotte's younger self, listening intently. Throughout the story, her younger counterpart and Charlotte, mostly, asked various questions about the story, since it was new to them. Such as, what do merpeople look like? How did they get a tail? Do they make beignets and gumbo? Do they wear beautiful dresses? Do they even go to the bathroom the same way humans do?

Most of the time, Eudora answered, "Well, I don't know. I've never met any merfolk."

"Oh." the little ones said. Tiana cracked a wide smile at their response. Too nostalgic to say the least. She put Winifred beside little Charlotte.

"Ooh! Winnie!" she noticed spontaneously, and hugged the bear tightly. Tiana giggled. Good times.

"Now," Eudora continued, "The little mermaid asked, 'Grandmother, how could I earn a soul?' And her grandmother said, 'There could be no way you could earn a soul, but by turning human and winning the heart of a human man so much that he'd marry you.'"

"So she wanted to have...a soul?" asked little Tiana.

"What's a soul?" asked little Charlotte.

"Well, that's mighty deep of you to ask. A soul is the very thing that you are on the inside of yourself aside from your body," Eudora answered. "Your thoughts and feelings—that's apart of your soul."

"Wow..." said the little girls.

"So we all have souls?" asked Charlotte.

Eudora chuckled. "Why, yes, Lottie, we all have souls."

"Well, that's the bee's knees, isn't it, Tia?" Charlotte said excitingly.

"Yeah!" Tiana nodded.

Eudora continued the story. "While the king threw a ball in the palace, the little mermaid went to seek out the sea witch..."

Little Charlotte gulped. "Sea witch?" Little Tiana became was just as worried.

"Where the sea witch lived there were no flowers or grass. Nothing grew. It was a scary cave that had polyps all around that tried to grab her..." Eudora slowed down to a stop. "Do you girls really want me to read this?"

Little Tiana opened her mouth, raising her finger, but was interrupted by Charlotte.

"We have to know if she lives happily ever after with the prince!"

"I guess so," agreed little Tiana.

So Eudora continued again. The present Tiana re-learned the story all over again. How the little mermaid gave up her own tongue for the potion to turn her human. Giving up all she had: the title of a princess, being one of the merfolk, having the most beautiful voice in all the earth, but most importantly, her family who did care for her and wanted her back. All for legs, feet that bled when she was walking, and a prince that didn't know that she was the one that saved him, not the other girl who found him there. Unfortunately, he found that other girl who he thought saved him, and they were married. Now on the morning after they were married, the little mermaid knew not what she could do. Her sisters came up to the surface and offered her a knife the sea witch gave in exchanged for their hair, which they tended as their crown and glory, to kill the prince. The little mermaid took the knife after her sisters swam back into the deep, but could not use it against the prince.

"Why couldn't she use it?" asked Charlotte. "I mean, it'd be kinda _bad_ if she did, but _why_?"

"_She loved the prince too much to use it against him_," read Eudora. For one second, the older Tiana thought she was going to cry. How can someone endure so much pain for the person they loved who never noticed their feelings and still want to be happy for them? Because...they love them too much to hurt them and the people they love to do such a thing.

"So, she kissed the princes' forehead and threw the knife in the ocean. As the sun rose up, she peacefully disappeared as sea foam, as the destiny of all merfolk who die. The prince and his bride saw the sea foam behind the ship, thinking that she jumped into the sea."

Charlotte, holding her bear, Winifred, tried not to burst into tears, but failed. "That's...so sad! She didn't get her prince and _died_!" she choked in her southern accent. Little Tiana, older Tiana, and Eudora pitied her. Charlotte loved happy endings and always expected them. "She didn't get what she wawn-eed!" she bawled.

Eudora couldn't bring herself to read another line. The story was quite upsetting.

The present Tiana's heart was filled with compassion as she attempted to reach little Lottie's shoulder, but her hand moved through a translucent sorrowful little girl. Tiana was taken aback by this, taking her left hand to observe if her eyes were playing tricks on her or if that memory of hers was truly distant. She turned her head up to look again to see that lost memory, but saw the streets of New Orleans.

The first things she saw was the rows of stores, mostly diners with 'Help Wanted' signs. As she came closer to them, the signs came down. Each of the bosses came out of the door, saying, "Sorry, no more room," or a variant of the sort. She began this stroll by walking slowly, then jogging, then running as fast as she can from their rejections until she bumped into a familiar someone.

"Tiana!" He welcomed her with open arms. _I don't believe it..._

"Daddy?" She couldn't stop the tears flowing from her eyes. Here he was, all these years. After all those times growing up with him, cooking with him, laughing with him...

She finally let go of his embrace, opening her eyes to see his gentle face. He now wore a hat that completed his uniform as if...

He were going to war.

_No._

"Daddy, you can't do this," she said. "You've got to stay here."

Whether he listened or not, he only said, "I'm sorry, Tiana," as he placed a kiss on her forehead. He turned to face the ship at the docks and walked. Tiana followed, calling his name, but as she gained a step behind, she was still far from him, even when she stretched out her arm to reach him. As he walked on board, she ran even harder, stomping every step she took until her last step on the wooden docks turned into a fall that ended as a-

BAM! On the floor. In her room.

Tiana looked around her room on the warm wooden floor. Everything was in place. So was her 'Tiana's Place' poster beside her father's photo. She inhaled deeply before tears dropped on the floor as she reflected on the dream.

He was there and gone. Just like eight years ago.


	4. The Little Mermaid, Part II

_Up Where They Walk_

The Little Mermaid, Part II

I guess there's another thing she had that she hadn't had a long time on a weekday again. Free time. After getting her shoes on, Tiana grabbed her coat and hat for a walk out to town. It was nice to do one of those to clear the mind from the day. Before she walked out, she spotted a note on the kitchen table.

_Dear Tiana,_

_I'll be home soon enough after I come back from the La Bouff's. Get yourself some rest as well as have some fun._

_Love, Mama_

She smiled. _Thanks, Mama. _She folded the note and placed it in the pocket of her coat.

The streets of New Orleans were a little empty for its time in the late afternoon, but there's always something calm before a storm, no?

Tiana walked, kicking a few rocks here and there as she past the stores that didn't have any openings for her. It was in the nick of time that she was around the docks. She stepped back in alarm, staring for a few seconds. She turned to where she enter into the beach, since not a soul was around.

She took off her shoes to have more comfier walk on the sand. After awhile, she was a bit tired, and sat down beside a rather large rock and leaned her head on it with her arms around it. The waves approached and slipped back on the sand, and at times, cooled the soles of her feet. Tiana also saw a silhouette, far away, enjoying the sunset.

_Stunning_, thought Vysonto. That was a word that described the things he loved. One thing's for sure, the sunset was one of those things that he did love that was "of the surface." He was reluctant to love it, but Ariel's charisma always got the best of him, in a good way, he always thought.

"Look at this," said Ariel, sitting on a rock. "isn't it beautiful?"

Vysonto took his attention from Ariel to the view, and gulped. "Yes, it's very stunning," he quickly said.

"Mn-hm," agreed Flounder.

_Must be grand having a childish mind. I'm already on the path of no return._ Vysonto then turned around, for he felt a ripple in the waters that weren't of the three there in the area. He spotted a woman on the beach who was standing on the small waves sweeping the soggy sand. He promptly turned back to the sunset, hoping the other two wouldn't notice. But that was a very high hope for someone who befriended two curious people.

"You see anything back there, Vysonto?" asked Flounder.

He took a deep breath. "No-"

"Hey!" interrupted Ariel, looking at the beach. "There's a human over there!"

_Oh no._ She's got an idea, and she's going for it. That's Ariel for you, and there was not stopping her. Vysonto didn't even try this time.

Tiana held a part of her dress up to her knees to walk further into the water until it swallowed half of her legs. Its coldness soothed her troubles away, which is a first in her life. Peace like this was rare for her life and the lives of many in New Orleans.

"There they are!" said a child-like voice.

She stepped back a few paces. _Who is that?_

"It's a young woman," mentioned a young male's voice.

"Shh!" commanded another voice. "Flounder, you'll scare them away!" It was more feminine.

Tiana scanned for anything handy on the spot for this moment. It could be anyone. Charlotte told her countless times about how crazy people can watch you while you're not looking sometimes. Her advice for the time being was more useful than ever while growing up. Tiana found a long stick and raised it around her head, ready to strike at any given second.

"Show yourselves!" Tiana demanded. "Don't be afraid to come out at me because I'm just as prepared to fight as you are!" To an extent, that is.

"She thinks we're trying to attack her, Ariel," whispered the male voice.

"Don't worry, I'll handle this."

"Please be careful."

"I will."

Tiana searched her surroundings for the voices. Each sides of the beach were cleared off as she was there the whole time. She kept her stick high, ready to strike.

"Um...hello there?"

Tiana rapidly swung her head around until she saw the redhead, who swam towards her only so much in shallow water, not to scare her more. Her hands let her weapon plop to the ground. She approached the redhead, whose hair was not the orange kind of redhead you see, like Travis, but the blood red you'd see on Snow White's lips.

"Hello," the girl once again greeted.

Tiana shook her head to jump out of her daze. "Um...Oh, I'm sorry. Hello."

"My name's Ariel. What's yours?"

"Tiana," she calmly said.

"Tee-ah-nah," Ariel pronounced. "That's a nice name."

"Why, thank you. Ariel's a very nice name as well," Tiana complemented.

"Thanks. Sorry if I scared you earlier."

"Oh, it's alright. I sort of overreacted a bit anyway. You've got to be a bit alert livin' in this city."

"Oh...What's it called?"

"New Orleans. I live here." Tiana sat herself down on the sand. 

Ariel grew excited. "Really? What's it like?"

"It's always busy. Why don'tcha make yourself comfortable?" Tiana patted some of sand beside her.

Ariel crawled onto shore. Minerals of sand stuck to her hands as she dragged herself closer.

It was at this instant Tiana raised her eyebrow, noticing her teal tail, scales shining. "Are you a-a?"

"Mermaid? Yes." The mermaid positioned her tail on the sand for Tiana to have a closer look. Ariel brushed off some of the sand off her scales. Tiana was still flabbergasted as ever.

"I can't believe this. You're a mermaid." Tiana only stared at her tail.

"It's okay. Go ahead and touch, I don't mind." Ariel said. "I never talked to a human. Besides, I've never seen a human this close before."

"Oh, really?" It's been talked about. Centuries old stories about mermaids singing to sailors, drowning them in the ocean. Why did Lottie share such information from her school with her? Many things they did share, since many of the things in Tiana's school was years older and outdated as she was promoted to each grade level. But this...was different. Actually meeting one of the merfolk, who says that they've never talked to a human, much less sing to them.

"Yes," Ariel said, lowering her eyelids. "It's forbidden in Atlantica to talk to or even be seen by humans. Or even to come up to the surface."

Tiana tensed up. "Forbidden? Why?"

She knew why. It was all too painful to explain. "An accident." Ariel fully closed her eyes, seeing the day that her father came to her and her sisters about why their mother didn't come back with him.

That was the sign to stop. "I'm sorry," Tiana apologized. "Maybe I should go..." She attempted to stand, but Ariel grabbed her arm out in desperation. She was the first human she met, after all. If she left, she'd most likely be the last human she'd ever meet in her life.

"Please," begged Ariel, "Don't go." Tiana clearly saw through her blue eyes that she wanted her to stay, even if it meant breaking the rules of her home. It would be unfair if she did walk on, since the mermaid had a tail and not legs to maneuver. Tiana sat down again again and moved around a little, making herself comfortable again.

"Thank you, Tiana." Ariel said gratefully. "It means the world to me that you stayed."

That was a sentence that has been said to Tiana many times in various forms from many of her friends, but none of them have ever said it in such fervor as this. No stranger has ever said this to her with such fervor, and at the same time, even sadness.

"If it's against the rules, Ariel, then why meet someone like me?" Tiana asked.

"I want to know about the human world. I want to know what you do, how you live under the sun, and dance with those things you've got there." Ariel pointed to Tiana's legs.

"Oh? You mean legs?"

"Yeah. But that's mostly because my father thinks that humans are barbarians, and that they don't care about anyone," Ariel said.

Tiana's eyes widened at this. "How can your dad say that we're barbarians, and he doesn't even know any humans?"

Finally! Someone who thought like her! "I know! He's never met any! How's he supposed to know if humans truly acted like that?" Ariel crossed her arms. "And the way he thinks is how we have that law in Atlantica in the first place!"

"Wait just a minute," Tiana said, "Your father is the one who set up that law?"

"Yes. My father's the king of Atlantica."

"Which means you're a princess..."

"Well, I'm seventh in line for the throne. Not a big deal now."

"In time, it will be eventually."

"It depends." Ariel shrugged.

"I've never met any royals before," Tiana said, "And the closest I've been to a royal is my best friend Lottie who wants to marry a prince and become a princess someday. Her father's been the king of the Mardi Gras parade for four years now."

"Really?" Ariel caught the thought about Charlotte. "Your friend wants to be a princess?"

"Yes, she does. Been wishin' to be a princess since we were little kids."

"If she were in my place, she'd fit right in with my sisters. All six of them."

"Wow," said Tiana. "I'm an only child myself. So is she."

"Must be great," guessed Ariel.

"Gets a little lonely. With friends like Lottie, it feels like I have a sister living across the city, which she does. But nothin' stops Lottie trying to get to me."

"She must be a good friend."

"You're definitely right about that. A great friend. One of the rarest."

"So, what's the city of New Orleans like?"

"Well, there's the businesses runnin', the jazz bands playin' everyday, and everyone's dancin' to the music out there..."

She said the magic word that lit up Ariel's face. _"Dancing?"_

"Mm-hm." Tiana nodded. "Everybody has a good time here for the most part."

"What kind of dances do they have?"

"There's the Charleston, the Lindy Hop-"

Ariel interrupted. "Can you show me those dances?"

That wasn't a subject Tiana excelled in. "Um...I'm sorry, Ariel, but I don't dance."

"Can you show me another dance?"

"No," said Tiana, trying not to let her down too harshly. "I've got two left feet."

Ariel's face lit up with curiosity. "Really?" Ariel surprised Tiana by picking up her right foot. "Can I see your feet?"

That was quite awkward for someone to be so joyous about a foot like that for Tiana. "Um, Ariel, that was a figure of speech."

"Figure of speech?" asked Ariel.

"It's a way of sayin' something to mean something else," she explained, "Like havin' two left feet is sayin' that you can't dance."

Ariel understood. "Oh...so you don't have two left feet?" She felt slightly let down by this, and placed Tiana's foot on the sand.

"No. I have a left and right foot like everyone else." Both of the girls heard a splash that came with a small blue and yellow fish.

"It seems you got a little friend there, Ariel," Tiana mentioned. Ariel scooted into the water to see Flounder shyly reveal himself.

"Hey, Flounder!" said Ariel, nudging him. "It's been time you showed yourself to our new friend."

"Isn't he's the most cutest little thing," doted Tiana, giving him a motherly smile.

"Hi," he shyly said, blushing. Ariel gave him a mischievous smile. Then a thought came to her.

"Where's Vysonto?"

"He's still hiding behind the rock," answered Flounder.

"Hmm..." Ariel thought out loud. "Why is it that he's always so unwilling to join us when it comes to humans, sometimes? Is he just _scared_ of them?"

Vysonto appeared from behind the rock with a new found boldness. At times, it didn't take a lot for him to be angry. Most of the time, it's to set things straight. "I am _not_!"

"Vysonto!" His boldness transformed into mush as Ariel called his name. "It's great that you've finally joined us!"

He unwillingly dragged his tail to the two of them. It was one thing of being forced by your younger friends to meet someone who could be potentially dangerous, but it was another to be tricked from a prank that threw his confidence out of the window. He gave Ariel a glare that said, "Why do I have to do this?"

"Tiana," said Ariel, "These are my friends, Flounder and Vysonto. Vysonto and Flounder, this is our new friend, Tiana." Flounder waved his hand bashfully. Vysonto, although he didn't want to break the law of Atlantica, did greet Tiana with the respect that he gave all creatures he'd encountered, whether they returned him the same respect or not.

He offered his hand to her. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Tiana." He looked closely at her eyes and saw a bit of uncertainty while shaking her hand. "Don't be afraid. If you wonder what I am then, I answer you that I am a mutant merman. And yes, both of my late parents were mutants as well."

Tiana saw how foolish she was. He was like anyone else, Vysonto. The way he spoke now was as normal as any human's she knew; a bit nervous, but all the same. He even lost both of his parents, and he seemed slightly younger than she. She only lost her father. She couldn't imagine losing her mother, even now. "I'm sorry for being rude. I shouldn't have stared at you like that."

Her apology was the first of many that could have been made by the some of the seafolk in Atlantica. "Thank you. You're the only one that ever said that to me." He then faced Ariel, who gave him a wide smile. She'd knew he'd like her.

"What?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing," she answered, pretending not to mind him.

"Anyway, Tiana, how old are you?" asked Vysonto.

"I'm nineteen," she answered. "And you?"

"I'm seventeen. Ariel's fifteen, soon to be sixteen and Flounder's nine."

"Nice to have young people around, as the old folks say," she laughed, until she noticed the sun almost disappearing. "I think I should be gettin' back home now."

"Now?" Flounder asked.

Tiana saw that his lips moved, but didn't hear what he said, on a count of people not being able to communicate with animals. Understanding his gestures, she leaned over the little fish and patted him along his spinal dorsal fin. "Yes, I'm afraid it's time to go home for all of us."

"Aww..." Flounder disappointingly said. "Can we see you tomorrow, then?" Tiana looked at Ariel for a moment.

"What did he say?" she asked.

"You mean, you didn't hear him?" asked Ariel.

"It's not everyday that an animal can talk to you in English, when you're human, Ariel."

"Oh. Well, then, he asked if we can see you tomorrow."

Tiana looked back at the little fish lovingly, patting him again, saying, "Of course I can."

Flounder splashed a bit of water, rejoicing, "Whoo-hoo!"

"It's nice meeting you, Tiana," said Vysonto, who offered his hand to her.

She shook it. "It was nice meeting you, too, Vysonto."

_This went better than I thought, especially with Vysonto_, Ariel thought as she smiled. She jumped back into the water. "Tiana, it's been a pleasure meeting you today! See you tomorrow around the same time?"

"Sure!" She agreed. The three sea dwellers swam a bit farther towards Atlantica as they waved goodbye. Tiana waved back at them with such an enlightened feeling as they disappeared into the water. She ran off the beach with her low heel shoes in her hand. As she put them on while on the docks, the enlightened feeling grew and grew into a feeling that she hadn't experienced since...her father was around. That warm feeling that was missing for such a long time. Her feet firmly fitting her shoes, she set off to her house with a wide smile on her face through the streets, the trolley, and her own neighborhood.

Tiana opened the door, seeing her mother sitting at the kitchen table. "Momma!" She embraced her. "You won't believe who I met today."

"Oh?" said Eudora. "Who's that?" Tiana took off her hat, pausing at the thought that Ariel was a mermaid...and her friends were aquatic creatures as well. Although that may have happened, it sure wouldn't sound like it to her mother, who might suggest it was all the events that occurred today that made her hallucinate such a thing. So, she kept it to a minimum.

Tiana looked at her mother. "Someone you wouldn't meet everyday."


	5. Like You And Me

Up Where They Walk

Like You And Me

Ariel was home...sort of early. After that magnificent event today, she just had to talk about it with the two seafolk that were also there. But seeing that they did witness the event and eventually parted their ways, Ariel was alone, and could do nothing without friends around. Not even explore. She'd need both of them around. Having one of them around to explore is half as amazing when you do find something of the human world. On some days, it wasn't like that. But it was still fun to see what they could find and the adventure the three, or sometimes two, encountered. Yet, today's adventure was cutting off a bit earlier than usual. The sun would've switched places with the moon and stars by now. The sun was still hiding out on the ocean, dimming down on city of New Orleans. Atlantica was still bright enough to swim around and know where you were going.

It was still quite amazing. Meeting a human for the very first time. Actually talking with them. Agreeing with them. Becoming friends with them. Clearly this is the best day of Ariel's life so far. If only she could shout it out to the world and say, "I met one of the most friendly humans today!" and all that happened. Then all the seafolk would come closer, listening, and asking questions at the same time.

Ariel would love to do that with her family the most. Some of her sisters would love to listen to her venture. Her father wouldn't. He wouldn't even bother, and start reprimanding her.

If only he could understand. Or at least try to. Tiana's different from what he'd expect of humans to be. She was nice, mature, likeable person like all the other creatures in Atlantica. He just wouldn't like the fact that she's a human, regardless if she was likeable.

But she looked on the bright side: it's all a secret between her and her closest friends. She smiled widely at the thought, squeezing her pillow.

_Oh, just imagine,_ she thought,_ if I were human, Tiana and I could go out on a day in the city. The two of us and all the people to meet when we say hello. Oh, and I'll have to meet her friend Charlotte! All three of us discovering new things and having such fun times and..._

"Ariel?"

She opened her eyes and saw Arista.

"How long have you been here?" Arista asked. Ariel looked out the hole and saw how the sea was darker.

"For a while, I guess?" She shrugged.

"What were you smiling about?" asked Aquata. "Hm? Was it a boy?"

"Ariel!" Arista cried, worriedly.

"Oh, don't worry about that, Arista," said Andrina, "I don't think Ariel would swoon over any guys as long as she's got the attention of Flounder and Vysonto. No offense."

Ariel rolled her eyes and shrugged. "None taken."

"But, really?" asked Attina. "How come you're here early tonight?"

Ariel averted her eyes to her pillow, pulling its sides. "Well...I met someone today."

"It is a boy!" announced Aquata. "I knew it!"

"She just said 'someone,' not a boy, Aquata," said Adella.

"You're just upset because I still call Stevie 'Squid Lips,'" retorted Aquata.

"He does _not _have squid lips!" Adella shouted.

Attina came between them. "Break it up, you two." They distanced out, but Aquata smirked before Adella stuck her tongue at her.

"So, who is this someone?" asked Alana.

She had to think for a second. She can't say outright that Tiana was a human, _but..._Aha! She didn't have to mention that she was a human.

"Her name is Tiana," Ariel answered. Her sisters analyzed the name and came to the conclusion that it was nice. According to Ariel's (limited) description of her, her sisters imagined a dark skinned mermaid at Aquata's age being surprised at Ariel's greeting. They laughed, seeing that Ariel wasn't that scary at all to begin with.

"I can see it now," said Andrina, "Tiana was probably afraid of your gigantic red hair of eating her!" Andrina then playfully popped out of Ariel's hair that was floating, making faces, and made their sisters die with laughter. Ariel wasn't very amused of this, not because of her hair being teased—okay, that was part of it, but she was annoyed by how her new (human) friend was laughed about when they don't even know her. At least she had the gills to meet an actual human, not that her sisters would dare.

"Alright, everyone, or else Ariel's going to keep quiet about her new friend," warned Attina, who was still smiling. "Now, what else about her?"

"She has a good friend named Charlotte that's she's known since they were little girls," answered Ariel.

"Aww," doted Alana, clenching her hands together. "That's so cute!"

"She's a really good friend, so I've been told!" remarked Ariel. "She told me about New Orleans-"

"Wait," interrupted Arista, "What's New Orleans?"

"Doesn't sound like it's in Atlantica," analyzed Aquata.

"It isn't," Attina assured her. "Is it around Atlantica?"

Ariel nodded. _It's a lot more closer than you think, though._ "New Orleans is the city where she lives!" explained Ariel. "It sounds like a wonderful place by what's she's told me! They've got lots of stores, bands that play music all day...I've heard that they've got these dances there called the Charleston and the Lindy Hop!"

"What's a _Charleston_?" asked Adella, puzzled.

"And what's a _Lindy_ Hop?" Alana said to Adella confusingly.

"Did she show them to you?" asked an excited Aquata. Funny how she came to like something she can't do.

"Well, she really couldn't," said Ariel.

"Why not?" asked Adella.

Without minding the fact that their not knowing that Tiana was human, she said, "She has two left fee—I mean fins!" Good save.

Attina raised an eyebrow. "Were you about to say _feet_, Ariel?"

"Lighten up, Attina, you know Ariel likes all that human stuff," Andrina said indifferently.

"Yeah, Attina. And when you like something a lot, you tend to have it on your mind sometimes!" suggested Alana. Some of the other sisters nodded.

Attina sighed. "Okay, okay." She straightened up, shrugging off her suspicions. "So, you said that she has two left fins, huh?"

"She has two left fins?" exclaimed Arista, who clapped her cheeks in horror and pity. "Poor thing!"

"Deformities are harsh, aren't they?" Alana sorrowfully said.

"Um, she doesn't literally have two left fins..." Ariel said. "It's just a saying in her town if you can't dance. That's all." Her sisters cheered up.

"Well that's a neat saying!" acknowledged Adella.

"Yeah! Maybe if we meet Tiana soon, she could tell us more about the sayings in their city!" proposed Alana. Ariel's sisters' agreed to Alana's notion. To Ariel, that was not the greatest idea in the universe.

"Can you show us the way to New Orleans tomorrow, Ariel?" Arista pleaded.

Ariel said, "I can't. It's around Atlantica, but it's too far to get back home, though."

Attina rubbed her chin in thought. "Then how did you meet Tiana, since she's from there?" The sisters planted their eyes on Ariel, waiting for her answer. Seconds passed.

"Um...she was here for the weekend?" Ariel carefully answered, shrugging. Attina swam up to her, with her ever frozen stare piercing her conscience. "And unfortunately, today was her last day, so she's probably in New Orleans now. Too bad, so sad. Isn't it?" Ariel gave a small, nervous laugh.

Both of Attina's eyebrows furrowed as she accepted Ariel's story with the same suspicion she threw away moments ago. "Yes, too bad, so sad."

"But we can always dream, right?" asked Arista.

"Yeah!" agreed Adella. "We could be doing the Lindy Hop and the Charleston in the streets of New Orleans!"

"Dancing to the bands' music!" added Aquata.

"And everyone will be joining us!" Arista added. The rest of her sisters, save Attina, were gathered around each other, expressing their presumptions about this city called, "New Orleans."

Ariel thought about the words she said. So _selective_. That wasn't her. She always gave all the details, even with her sisters. This was a special case, she thought. _They musn't know that Tiana's actually a human. If they knew, they would have that thought inside of them right in front of Daddy. They'd feel so guilty. Like I feel now._

"Oh, but it feels all like a dream if it's far away," said Alana depressingly.

"And Daddy can't take us there because of his duties, either," said Arista.

"So much for the hopes and dreams of being in New Orleans," Andrina said in a sadder sarcastic tone. All of the mermaid sisters went to their beds with an unhappy aura about them, blanketing themselves in their clamshell beds. Each said goodnight each other as a few yawned and soundly went to sleep.

"Goodnight, Ariel," said Alana, catching Ariel off guard.

"Goodnight, Alana," she returned. _Yeah, so much for being in New Orleans..._Ariel thought. _If only I could._ She sang in a soft whisper, looking out the hole in their room:

_If I could_

_If they understood_

_If he understood..._

_That they aren't all as they seem_

_They all can be nice_

_They all can be sweet_

_And some can be as petite as me..._

_Petite as myself? Well, maybe._

_If that is so_

_I'll know for sure..._

_That they aren't all as they seem..._

_As Tiana told me_

_They sing and they dance_

_And that's no different_

_Coming from our stance_

_Don't we like to sing?_

_Don't we like to dance?_

_Even they experience romance!_

_Just like us..._

_They aren't all as they seem_

_They aren't as barbaric_

_As Daddy sees_

_Maybe one day he will see_

_That they're just like you and me..._

_That they're just like you and me, Daddy_

_Up where they walk..._

Her eyes closed as she sang her last words of the night.

* * *

><p>AN: Funny thing how Ariel doesn't take into mind that you really need legs to dance the Charleston and the Lindy Hop. Maybe Tiana should learn how to dance...and soon.


	6. A Little Fun Can Hurt, Part I

A/N: I would like to apologize for not updating this story, like I should have, and I dearly thank all of my reviewers out there and to those who may looked at it once and are interested. I feel very appreciated that you all do like this story. So, I'll push myself to do my best on this, and keep updating more. Classes weren't being the most courteous to me... If you want to drop a review by, feel free too! I like to improve on my writing skills, and it'd certainly help with advice. Hope you enjoy!

Up Where They Walk

A Little Fun Can Hurt, Part I

Next morning, Ariel, for once, actually stayed in with her sisters...in a daze of what her adventures with Tiana and her friends would be like. She'd show her all the well known places and the secret places she knew in Atlantica; in the city and in the outskirts, even.

Thing is, Tiana is human. That means legs... that doesn't specifically mean she can't really breathe underwater. The thing is, she doesn't have gills.

Ariel slumped back down in her bed, a bit defeated, blowing a lock of her hair up. She dangled her fins side to side, bored as she could be.

_Maybe I really should've met up with Vysonto and Flounder at the cave_, she thought._ A whole lot better than waiting here. It's bad enough that I waited until the last minute this time to want to go now. _ She brought her pillow to her face in regret and groaned a bit, until suddenly...

"Boo!" Ariel was whammed in the face by her pillow, moving her shell bed upside down. The next thing she laid eyes on after she lifted it up was her sister, Aquata.

"Morning, Ariel!" she laughed.

"Why, good morning, Aquata," Ariel said, as she held on her pillow when Aquata wasn't paying attention. Then, fire!

"Oof!" Ariel finally received that same unamused look from Aquata that she had a moment ago.

"This means war!" Aquata grabbed a pillow right from under Arista's head (who woke at such a surprise) and began with Ariel a spontaneous war of flying pillows sprouting across the room and awaking each sister, one at a time, such as Arista, who wondered at the random choice of Aquata's, grabbing her pillow and all, but the wondering stopped when one pillow slapped her in the face in bewilderment.

Alana, Adella, and Andrina all joined in, increasing the volume and then _finally_ disturbing the eldest of them all.

"Hey, what's with the noise you-" Attina collided back into her shell bed.

"Nice one, Ariel," nudged Andrina, who winked.

"Well, I didn't mean it," Ariel attempted to persuade.

Attina spotted Ariel right on the dime. "Seems that's a tad too late now," Andrina discouragingly said, shrugging. Ariel crossed her shoulders.

"Ariel..." Attina cut her eyes at her. All pillow fighting paused.

"Aquata threw a pillow at me first!" T'is the truth. But as we know, it's not always believed or taken to heart in some cases. This is one of them.

"But you're the one who threw this particular one at me, is it not?" Attina inquired, holding the pillow for her to see.

Ariel sighed and became smaller as she put her hands behind her back and lowering her head. "Yes, it was..."

"That's what I thought," Attina stated. She raised the pillow and...Pow!

Ariel found herself dumbfounded for a moment, but with a grand smile spread across her face the next.

The pillow fighting continued as Ariel thought, _I hope Tiana is having as much fun as I have up there with all that's up there in New Orleans and with her family or friends._

As ususal, Eudora wakes up from bed, passing an empty bedroom that is Tiana's. Ironically, today, her boss at her first shift job told her to take a day off, but regardless, she's still off to find a job from fill in her time that was spent at Jerry's. _She's gonna work herself to death for that restaurant._

She thought about Tiana, coming home early yesterday. Her poor baby was so tired. So tired that she plopped down on her bed and quickly went to sleep...and at the same speed spoke in her sleep. Although it wasn't like Eudora, she was curious about Tiana's mumblings. Usually, she spoke about her day, as passed years of her talking in her sleep. The people she knew and their conflicts involving her some way or another. And there was a new name mentioned out of her mouth that she was familiar to:

Ariel.

That same girl she spoke about, except with a few other details that seem a bit..._fishy_. Especially with the mention of a flounder, scales, a beach, and a _mermaid_.

_Maybe I read The Little Mermaidto her and Lottie a bit too often, well, without the bad ending. But, Lottie always said that The Frog Prince was her favorite, though, _Eudora pondered.

Then a third name came out. Vysonto.

_Hmm...I reckon that's one name I've never heard at all...if any parent named their child that._ _And people thought I was a bit unusual when I named Tiana. Nonetheless, at least she's getting some rest from workin' day and night. Then again, it'd be like her to find another job after she recently lost her last one._

It was really funny, her talking in her sleep, yet more puzzling than before.

Tiana, as predicted, was surely looking for another job. Her shift at Duke's was eight hours from now. She had to keep herself busy one way or another on the cobblestone streets of New Orleans. The traveling jazz bands were musically moving around where little sets of young people follow around to their jovial beat. The norm of most days. For Tiana, the norm would be going to work instead of getting pulled over the sidewalk by a friend, that friend being Ricky, who twirled her around in their 3 second dance.

"Ricky! What're you doing?" asked a taken aback Tiana, who stopped dancing.

Ricky continued dancing while speaking to Tiana. "Well, what does it look like I'm doin'?" He wasn't particularly mean, but just having the time of his life like most young folk of the '20s.

Tiana frowned. "It looks like you're wastin' your time finding a job and spendin' it on dancin' to me." She was about to turn and walk away, but Ricky halted his dancing for a moment for her.

"Well, I'm sorry, Tiana, if having a little fun after working so hard for some months is bad to you. I may not have the same dreams like yourself, but it doesn't mean that I'm not determined as you to make it in this life, too."

Tiana tilted her head lower in the same pattern of her eyelids. "Sorry. I sometimes think that-"

"Heh, that everyone has something to work up to?" suggested Ricky, with a hand on her right shoulder. "Well, most people do. But like I said, it's good to have some rest and some fun once in a while. And speaking of fun..." He placed his hand in hers, saying, "You should come spend the day with us!"

Oh, he meant well. "Ricky, as much I'd like to, I really got to find a job to earn more money for my restaurant."

He gave her one of those see through stares. "Tiana, I know you had two jobs before we both lost our jobs at Jerry's. You can at least have _some_ rest during the week other than the Lord's day. Besides, how many places have you tried that could offer you a position?"

"It's been three so far..." she reluctantly stated.

"_Exactly._ Now, come on! We're losing the band 'cross town!"

"But—what about my job at Duke's at three?"

"...Hopefully the jazz band will pass by there."

"Ricky!"

"We'll get there, Tiana, I promise." Oh, those eyes only a mother and maybe some other girl but her could love, yet still irresistible for his ways to win out in the end.

"Fine. Just live up to that promise of yours, okay?" Tiana offered a her hand.

"Deal." Ricky shook her hand. "Now let's catch up with the band!"

Tiana looked around. "I'm not sure if we could catch up with them..." She was actually a little relieved of such.

"Hey, you two!" said a familiar female voice, mostly because such a voice was heard often. "Such a surprise to see you, Tiana, out and about."

"Thanks, Wanda, how thoughtful," remarked Tiana.

"So, what were you doin' here, Tiana?" inquired Randy, who wanted Wanda not to get on Tiana's nerve. "We were just hangin' around town at a few places."

"If you can count us hoppin' to a few colored clothes stores that Wanda forced us to...then, yes, we have been around town for most of the morning," Nathan commented.

"And so early, too," Randy hunched his shoulders over, a tad tired.

"Well, you could've taken interest," retorted Wanda.

"Not much, since you were shoppin' for yourself...and at a predominately women's store," Nathan pointed out.

"Whatever, Nathan." Wanda crossed her arms. "We did see Georgia and some of our other friends along the way."

The five started walking. "Really? You did?" asked Tiana. She didn't see them as often as she did with her former co-working friends, only when they came to where they worked. "So how's she doin'?"

"Fine," Wanda answered, going into detail of what they talked about, what dresses they admired, and even spoke about dresses that weren't as attractive for their taste. Tiana wasn't much for high fashion, but what she wore was good enough. She thought one day she could wear exuberant garb at her restaurant, as well as buying some for her mother, who'd look as fabulous as her. Wanda, as Tiana knew, really admired the _haute coutre_ of the day.

"Ah, that dress was just the bee's knees! I'd probably do anything for it," Wanda finished, her mind in a daze almost.

"Yeah, except get a job," commented Nathan.

This is where Wanda's usual shooting of her cannonball insults come flying over without regarding her target well. "I did apply for a job more than one time, ya know!"

"Let's see: your job at Jerry's led to unemployment, you're not paid for _sometimes _cleaning the church floor, and taking care of Mrs. Jenkin's kids doesn't really count as an official job, either," Nathan analyzed.

"It was a job handlin' those rascals for just 2 hours," stated Wanda. "Five kids to take care of by myself was definitely a job."

"Well, that's until you called us over," added Randy. "It was a lot even with each of us gettin' them to calm down."

"True, I gotta say," Nathan said. Wanda was slightly satisfied on the inside.

Tiana glanced at her, amused in a way, and suddenly felt an eerie aura that was familiar, yet was not sensed often. It was fishy, and not connected to her friend Ariel in any way.

"Something doesn't feel too right about this place."

"I would think so," Randy agreed, "there's the Doctor's place right now," as he pointed out. And of course, this wasn't any kind of doctor that they could easily get a check up from, rather the one who their parents always chimed about:

_Say a prayer each day to keep the Shadow Man away._

Ricky rubbed his hands on his arms, shivering like crazy. "We need to get out of here and quick!"

Wanda gave Ricky a discontented look. "Oh pipe down and stop shiverin'. It's not like he's out here and gonna get us or anything. He just asks for people to come into his store. Not like his stuff works or anything." She simply shrugged.

"What are you talking about? I've seen it happen before!" Ricky exclaimed.

"What?" Randy, Tiana, and Nathan couldn't help but to.

"Are you serious, Ricky?" questioned Randy.

"Well, at least that's what I heard...but I swear I've never gone into that place before!" Ricky caught himself on that one.

"Oh, so what happened, then? Or what you _heard_?" asked Wanda, not caring much for such.

"What I heard was that there was this man who really wanted to impress this lady, who wish they were born with a spoon in their mouth all her life, and she always wanted a diamond ring as big as her eye for her engagement ring. So what happened was that the man went to the Shadow Man, who did some kind of spell on him, and then one day, the murder of a rich man occurred and the man took up that diamond ring on his finger. He gave it to his girl. Soon enough, the cops came to find him and took him to jail for life. And that's what I heard."

"That sounds awfully ridiculous," stated Wanda, "I mean, who would really pick off a diamond ring from a someone who just died?"

"You'd be surprised!" Ricky said to her, with eyes wide open and hands fluttering about her.

"Oh, get over that!" She pushed them aside confidently.

"Wanda, I've heard that this was true!"

"Ricky, it's what you heard. You don't know for yourself unless you go into that stuff."

"Then go for yourself and find out, Wanda," suggested Nathan with his wiggling eyebrows and smirk that Wanda wish she could slap off his face out of existence. Unfortunately, that was impossible for her.

"Shut up, Nathan." Wanda resumed her "I don't want to hear Nathan's input again" pose.

Tiana gulped a little, scanning around the area. "Maybe we should get moving now, magic or not. I don't want to be late for my job at Duke's later today, so let's spend all that we can now instead of paying for it later."

"For once, Tiana makes a good point," said Randy. "Let's get outta here."

They kept walking along the street, focusing what was ahead, yet each pair of eyeballs still looked around for that Shadow Man that could come in their sight at any moment...

A/N: I have to admit, Tiana shouting Ricky's name reminds me a bit of _I Love Lucy. _I hope to share a chapter with you all soon.


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